This blog began through a NIFA grant for Missouri Beginning Farmers. It continues today as a way for beginning farmers to learn about new ideas and to hear about upcoming events of interest. It is maintained by Debi Kelly (kellyd@missouri.edu).

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About Me

As an Extension Associate with the University of Missouri, I work with beginning farmers, small farms, alternative agriculture and organic farming. I am also the Co-coordinator for the Missouri Sustainable Agriculture and Research (SARE) Education Professional Development Program (PDP).

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Monday, September 29, 2014

FDA Revises Draft Food Safety Rules for Farms

Sorry for not posting in a while. I've been super busy with my new position. Things are starting to slow down so I hope to be posting everyday once again. Below is a blog from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition on the Food Safety Modernization Act. Anyone who grows food of any kind will be affected by this. So please read and let your voices be heard on what you believe will be best for your farm and your farming system.

FDA’s
originally-proposed rules, issued in January 2013, included several highly
problematic requirements that would have put many sustainable and organic farmers
out of business, dampened the growth of local food systems and innovative
supply chains, and undermined farmers’ natural resource conservation
efforts. In response, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
(NSAC) and the sustainable agriculture community undertook an extensive public
outreach and education campaign on the proposed rules, resulting in tens of
thousands of comments to FDA from concerned farmers, food entrepreneurs, and
consumers.

In large part due to
that campaign last year, FDA announced that it would reexamine several critical
areas of the FSMA proposed rules that have major potential impacts for
sustainable farming. The recently released proposals contain revisions
that reflect FDA’s new thinking on such critical issues as water quality
standards and testing; standards for using raw manure and compost; provisions
affecting “mixed-use facilities” (farms that engage in value-added processing);
and due process considerations for farms that are eligible for qualified
exemptions from the new regulations.

What is NSAC doing in
response?

Following the release of
the re-proposals, NSAC put out a statement that
highlights some clear improvements as well some concerns with the rules.
NSAC will be doing a complete and thorough analysis of the rules and will
provide more information as we read through the re-proposed language in the
weeks to come.

Everyone has a role in
ensuring safe food from field to plate, and fair rules will help sustainable
farmers continue producing safe, affordable, and healthy food. We are
analyzing the revised proposed rules to ensure in particular that they:

allow farmers to use sustainable farming practices,
particularly on the contentious issues related to water, including
irrigation water, and soil amendments like compost;

allow local food and farms to grow and thrive, by not
subjecting them to inappropriate or excessive regulation; and

will treat family farms fairly, by having clear and
fair procedures in place.

The rules will be
officially published in the Federal Register on September 29, at which time the
public comment period will begin. The comment period will last for 75
days. Hence there will be a mid-December deadline for submitting
comments.

Where can I find more
information?

For more information,
visit our FSMA Action
Center, which we will be updating over the next several weeks with
updated analysis.